Review Summary: NOT The Pineapple Thief. The OTHER pineapple prog band.
India has become a bit of a hotbed of progressive metal talent over the past decade with a surprising number of bands and musicians gravitating towards it. It's not that these young proggers constitute the majority of musicians in the country, because prog (as a subset of rock/metal (as a subset of English/western music)) is still a
very niche genre in a country of 1 point something billion people. However, every serious rock musician tries their hand at prog at one point or another. In fact the prevalence of international progressive metal acts that headline college and university festival shows, and the local prog bands that compete at "battle of the bands" competitions is probably the closest thing the country has to a "scene". Despite the adversity and challenges faced by musicians mining this tiny niche field, quite a few gems continue to be unearthed. Pineapple Express is one of the newest.
In essence, there are two kinds of Indian bands—those that unabashedly take their musical cues from foreign markets and trends, and those that try to incorporate their own heritage into their music in an effort to create something truly original and indigenous. Examples of the former would be bands like Skyharbor and Kraken.—who released their debut EP,
Lush earlier this year—that seem to have their finger on the pulse of contemporary international prog and rock, but also sound like they could have been from pretty much anywhere on the planet. Then there are bands like Pineapple Express whose DNA, in the form of Periphery-influenced djenty riffs and Dream Theater-influenced composition is somewhat recognizable. However, Pineapple Express also grafts on carnatic music, folk music, cinematic Indian pop and EDM to this basic template, creating a highly original and unique sound that doesn't always work, but is incredible when it does.
Album opener "Cloud 8.9" sets the template for
Uplift, combining crushing riffs with mind-bending time-signature changes that are commonly found in carnatic music, and it serves as a suitably impressive introduction to the band's instrumental virtuosity. However, the follow-up "As I Dissolve" is a bit of letdown because it's a ballad that veers just a little too far over the line into cheesiness, driven by its plaintive vocals and shimmery synth flourishes. This sets the stage for the two epic freakouts that close out the EP—"The Mad Song" and "Uplift".
"The Mad Song" and "Uplift" are great examples of Pineapple Express' colliding aesthetics. Heavy riffs are complemented by soaring vocals in both english and carnatic styles, absolutely
stunning guitar, violin and keyboard unison leads and solos, and pretty flute melodies. However, this is occasionally offset by some unnecessary glitchy electronic stutters and quasi-rapped sections that unceremoniously eject the listener from the mood created by the songs, sometimes just as they approach a climactic point. It seems like the band might be a little
too talented and giddy for their own good and is still in the process of figuring out the differences between the "cans" and "shoulds" of songwriting and composition.
Despite the missteps the band takes—you can probably chalk those up to an overabundance of youthful exuberance—
Uplift is an extremely strong debut release by a young band that showcases almost limitless potential and remarkable compositional and instrumental flair. "The Mad Song" and "Uplift" make this a worthy entry into the canon of modern progressive metal and place Pineapple Express close to, of not
at, the top of India's still-developing progressive metal scene while also providing irrefutable evidence (along with The Pineapple Thief) that while pineapples may not make for tasty pizzas, they certainly make some tasty prog.
